(Ahmedabad) At least fifteen people, including thirteen children, drowned Thursday when their boat sank during a school trip in the state of Gujarat in western India, officials announced, as rescue operations were underway to find missing people.
The students were on their way to a picnic organized by their school when the boat sank in a lake.
“The death toll is 15,” hospital director Ranjan Aiyer told reporters.
Hospital officials, who did not provide their identities, said the victims included children as young as 10 and two of their teachers.
According to a Vadodara district official, 27 people were on board when the shipwreck occurred.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined, he said.
Several dozen people joined rescue operations around the lake to try to find survivors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his compassion for the victims’ families on X, assuring that “the local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected.”
Shipwrecks are not uncommon in India.
In 2023, at least 22 people died when their cruise ship sank in the southern state of Kerala.
Survivors had told media that many passengers were not wearing life jackets.